La Virgen de Guadalupe/Our Lady of Guadalupe

The Aztecs The Aztecs ruled most of

Central America in 1500 Empire was known as

Mesoamerica; extended from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean

Moctezuma was King of the Aztecs in 1503 and ruled from the capital Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco, known as modern Mexico City

Tenochtitlan was the center of religious worship

Inhabitants were called Mexica

The AztecsMoctezuma

demanded tribute from surrounding tribes

Mexica believed gods required human blood to subsist, so priests sacrificed thousands of humans from surrounding tribes every year

The AztecsQuetzalcoatl

◦ Aztec god◦ Stone serpent◦ Founded Aztec nation◦ Left when human

sacrifices began◦ Vowed to return in

the year 1-Reed (every 52 years in Aztec time cycle)

The AztecsTonantzin

◦ Aztec goddess◦ The mother god◦ Depicted as a

terrifying figure◦ Head comprised of

snakes, her garment of serpents, her eyes fathomless grief

◦ Worshipped at a stone temple in Tepeyac, within a few miles of Tenochtitlan

The Aztecs Princess Papantzin

◦ Moctezuma’s sister◦ Lapsed into a coma in

1509◦ Dreamt of a luminous

being with a black cross on his forehead leading her to a shore with large ships that would come to conquer the Aztecs and bring them their true god

◦ 10 years later, Spanish Conquistadors arrived in Mexico (same year Quetzalcoatl could return)

Hernando Cortez and the Conquistadors Glory, God, Gold Landed on Good Friday,

April 22, 1519 Named landing site

Veracruz, “The True Cross”

Father Bartolome de Olmedo performed Mass on Easter Sunday

Built a fort, sent a ship back to Spain and burned rest of ships determined to conquer the land

Hernando Cortez and the ConquistadorsCortes won

surrounding tribes who resented the tribute to the Aztecs

As Cortes continued on his expedition, evidence of human sacrifice was everywhere

He became determined to stop the sacrifices

Hernando Cortez and the Conquistadors Moctezuma planned

to trap Cortes, but Spaniards overwhelmed the Mexia

Moctezuma recalled his sister’s dream and realized the Spaniards’ helmets adorned black crosses

He believed Cortes was Queztalcoatl and refused to attack him

Hernando Cortez and the Conquistadors Cortes asked

Moctezuma to stop human sacrifices

Moctezuma refused to comply

Cortes climbed the stairs of the main temple, removed the Aztec gods and placed a cross and an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary

War ensued and the Spaniards were victorious

Catholicism in Mexico Cortes demolished the

sacrificial temples and built Catholic churches in their place

Cortes called for missionaries to convert the native Indians

Franciscan Peter Ghent arrived from Belgium, became known as Fray Pedro de Gante and earned the trust of the natives who listened to the Christian message

Catholicism in Mexico Resistance to

Christianity on behalf of the natives became a problem for missionaries

Natives associated Christianity with the deaths of thousands of Indians and the destruction of Tenochtitlan

In 1528 Charles V of Spain sent a group of administrators known as the First Audience

Catholicism in MexicoLeader of the First

Audience was cruel to the native population

Forced them to abandon their villages or be reduced to slavery

Charles V then appointed Fray Juan Zumarraga as the 1st Bishop of Mexico City in December of 1528

Catholicism in Mexico The Bishop spent most of

his first year objecting to the treatment of the Indians by the First Audience

The First Audience applied strict censorship which forbade complaints from the Indians and the Spaniards

The Bishop sent a message to Spain and the First Audience was recalled and replaced with the Second Audience

By this time the Native population was fed up with the Spaniards and their religion

TepeyacAztec Indian

Cuauhtlatoatzin is born in 1474

Baptized and given name Juan Diego

Juan Diego became a widower and turned life to God

He attended mass and catechism lessons in Tlatelolco

Tepeyac At daybreak, on

Saturday, December 9, 1531, Juan Diego begins journey to church

Passes a hill named Tepeyac which was once the site of a temple to the Aztec mother god, Tonantzin

Juan Diego hears songbirds which forebode something divine to the Aztecs

TepeyacA beautiful girl

with tan complexion calls him by name in his native language

She says, “Dear little son, I love you. I want you to know who I am.”

"I am the Virgin Mary, Mother of the one true God, of Him who gives

life. He is Lord and Creator of heaven

and of earth. I desire that there be built a

temple at this place where I want to manifest Him, make him

known, give Him to all people through my

love, my compassion, my help, and my protection.

I truly am your merciful Mother, your Mother and the Mother of all who dwell in this land, and of all

mankind, of all those who love me, of those who cry to me, and of those who seek and place their trust in me. Here I shall listen to their weeping

and their sorrows. I shall take them all to my heart,

and I shall cure their many sufferings, afflictions, and

sorrows. So run now to Tenochtitlan and tell the Lord Bishop all that you have

seen and heard.”

Tepeyac Juan Diego goes to

the Bishop who asks him to visit again

Juan Diego returns to Tepeyac and asks Mary to send someone else with the message

She says that Juan Diego is the chosen one and must return to the Bishop and relay her message

“Tell him it is the ever holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God who sends you, and repeat to him my great

desire for a church in this

place.”

Tepeyac Juan Diego returns to see

the Bishop on Sunday morning, December 10

The Bishop asks for a sign

Juan Diego relays the message to the Virgin Mary

She asks him to return the next day

Upon arriving home that day, Juan Diego finds his uncle to be gravely ill

He does not go to see Mary on Monday

Tepeyac Juan Diego sets out

on December 12th to bring a priest from the Church of Santiago at Tlatelolco to provide the last blessing for his uncle

Tepeyac is on the way to the church, but to avoid Mary, Juan Diego changed his route

She appears to him on the changed route

Tepeyac Juan Diego apologizes

for not returning, and She tells him that his uncle has been healed

She asks him to go to the top of the hill and cut the flowers and bring them to her

Juan Diego finds Castilian roses and takes them to the Virgin, who arranges them in his tilma

Tepeyac Juan Diego returned to

see the Bishop with the roses in his tilma

He told the Bishop about the miracle healing of his uncle

When he dropped the roses in front of the Bishop, the image of the Virgin Mary, as he described her, appeared on his tilma

The Virgin Mary appeared to his uncle and told him he would get better.

The Impact Imprint on the tilma

impacted native population

Virgin Mary appeared as an Indian and spoke the Aztec language

She appeared at Tepeyac, site of the destroyed Aztec temple of Tonantzin

1531-1538 eight million natives converted to Catholicism

The Image on the Tilma